Existing digital communication applications are designed by first determining a media format, e.g. instant messaging or video conferencing, and subsequently, developing and testing a platform for deployment and support of the media format. The platform, which may include individual systems, technology, and tools, may then be gradually modified to support more sophisticated communication functions. These existing communication applications are developed in a stovepipe fashion with limited separation between application needs and logic, or between device types and underlying networks. Existing systems may hinder the development of new communication applications, particularly domain specific applications, such as telemedicine, because of the complexity, cost, and lengthy cycle required of vertical development.
Moreover, such vertically developed systems typically have fixed functionality and limited interfaces, and contain components that do not interoperate with each other (e.g., because the components have differences in design, architecture, API, and network/device assumptions). This lack of interoperability may make it difficult to modify existing systems to fit changing user needs, to fit dynamics of underlying networks, and to adapt to new device and network technologies. As a consequence, users, particularly sophisticated domain specific users, are forced to use multiple tools to satisfy their communication needs.